Peeps

Indies. Weekly Document: The Censored Chapter (1946) » Restricted Data: The Nuclear Secrecy Blog. An article of mine (“A Tale of Openness and Secrecy: The Philadelphia Story”) has recently been published in Physics Today.

Even better, the article has been made available for free on the Physics Today website (and as a PDF), so it can be read widely. Click to go to the article online. The basic story is thus: in late 1945, a group of scientists at the University of Pennsylvania, led by one William E. Stephens, decided that it would be a really cool thing to write their own, heavily-technical version of the Smyth Report. They would show that a bunch of non-nuclear physicists could, from the published literature and first principles, explain in technical terms exactly how atomic bombs worked.

The final book was published as Nuclear Fission and Atomic Energy in late 1948 (two years after it was first written), and is now completely out of copyright. This week’s document is a true exclusive: the censored chapter from Nuclear Fission and Atomic Energy, taken from the AEC’s files. Notes. Alternative Media.

Corporativo

American Apparel will be tagging every neon legging, velvet bodysuit, V-neck t-shirt and iconic hoodie with an RFID sensor, the RFID Journal reports. The sensors will track items from the time they are shipped from American Apparel’s factory in downtown L.A. to when a customer purchases the item from one of its 280 stores, helping the chain to keep better track of inventory and disappearances. Since entering the retail market in 2003, American Apparel has succeeded wildly by imparting its cotton basics with alternative appeal. The company supports progressive issues like gay rights, pays factory workers $12 to $14 per hour -- far above minimum wage -- and regularly incites the uptight with skin-filled ads.

This is Not a Conspiracy Theory by Kirby Ferguson. For international orders, please add an extra $10 for shipping.

They can help topple a regime.
"Ali al-Bouazizi, a political analyst The uprisings that have shaken the Arab world were galvanised by photographs and videos taken by ordinary citizens using their mobile phones.
Everything is a Remix. Ardián V Oro. Vangelis: A message of hope - Talk to Al Jazeera. In December 2011, leaders from around the world gathered at the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations meeting in Doha, a forum meant to encourage dialogue between cultures and people.

The host nation, Qatar, asked Vangelis, the Greek composer, to create the music for the event, which also marked the inauguration of Doha's cultural village and Greek-style amphitheatre. The event brought together celebrated artists from around the world and his music was written to formulate a message of hope. Vangelis, one of the world's most celebrated creators of electronic music and the Oscar-winning composer of the music for Bladerunner and Chariots of Fire, came to a Middle East in the midst of upheaval at a time of financial crisis in his own country. Al Jazeera's Tony Harris met the composer to talk about the role of music in our times.
La naturaleza contraataca: amaranto inca devora transgénicos de Monsanto.

Judge Rakoff on free love, the death penalty, defending crooks and Wall Street justice. The potential impact of Rakoff’s stand goes beyond the financial arena to other industries and regulators that rely on negotiated settlements.